Extra simple publication/reference manager with a text interface. I wrote it up because I wanted something strong enough to build out a large publication library with my own categorization structure, but I didn't want to work with some big publication manager that didn't suit my needs. For instance, when I read publications, I annotate and draw on them digitally, and I want to see those annotations when I go back to read them. PyPub offers a simple way to do this. It will not be very helpful if you don't use BibTex.

1. First, use the environment.yaml file to make sure you have all the dependencies and 'install' PyPub. This will use conda to create a new environment.

    (base)$ git clone https://github.com/JesseRodriguez/PyPub
    (base)$ cd PyPub
    (base)$ conda env create -f environment.yaml
    (base)$ conda activate pypub

2. Next, fill in the library directory (the directory in which you'd like to store your database and article .pdfs) and the pub sort directory (essentially a 'paper pile' where you toss .pdfs and corresponding .bib files when you're ready to add them to the database) in your config.yaml file.

    LibDir: /path/to/library/directory
    PubSortDir: /path/to/pub/sort/directory

3. PubMngr.py functions as the main publication manager application; run it with python and the text prompts will guide you through its use. Before adding a publication, drop its associated .pdf into your PubSortDir. If you have a .bib entry for it, either add a .bib file to PubSortDir with the same file name or let the script help you create one.

    (pypub)$ python PubMngr.py

4. If you've added a bunch of .pdfs with no associated .bib files to PubSortDir, run bibMkr.py to create them.

    (pypub)$ python bibMkr.py

I think it's nice to have icons on my desktop that fire up a terminal window and run PubMng.py and bibMkr.py. If you think so too, use Automator to create an application with a 'run shell script' action. Then, paste the following into the ensuing window:

    osascript -e 'tell application "Terminal"
        do script "cd /Users/jesse/Documents/Literature && source activate pypub && python PubMngr.py"
        set bounds of front window to {0, 0, 980, 500}
    end tell'

This will make an app that runs PubMngr.py and open it in a terminal window of a certain size. Save the result in the applications folder and drag a shortcut onto your desktop. I even made some logos that are included in this repo if you're interested.